TWO pensioners were asked for their names and addresses when buying a box of Christmas crackers – because shop staff said they contained tiny amounts of gunpowder.

Pensioners were quizzed after they bought crackers which contained tiny amounts of gunpowder

Great-grandparents Ivy Francis, 82, and husband Bert, 83, said they were shocked when told the £15 box from Marks & Spencer had “age restrictions”.

Mrs Francis, of Peacehaven, East Sussex, said yesterday: “I think they must have thought my hubby was Guy Fawkes or something, it was all very strange.

“We felt sorry for the assistant. She called her superviser over and was told the message on the till screen was correct.

“It was laughable really. She said, ‘I am sorry, we have to ask’. We were shocked to be honest, we couldn’t believe it when she asked us and she ended up taking down our names and address.

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AN age restriction was placed on the items due to the gunpowder

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The bizarre event was down to a till error

I thought, ‘Who do you think we are, Guy Fawkes?’

Ivy Francis

“We thought it was very strange. I thought, ‘Who do you think we are, Guy Fawkes?’

“I’m not sure what she thought we were going to do with them. The more I thought about it afterwards, though, the more I thought it was a bit rude.

“They look like good crackers anyway, we will enjoy them on Christmas Day with a little smile.”

Former engineer Mr Francis and his wife, who have four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, provided their names and address at the checkout before paying for the crackers at the store in Shoreham, West Sussex.

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The incident occurred in a Marks and Spencers

A Marks & Spencer spokesman said it was not company policy to ask for personal details when selling Christmas crackers, adding that the incident was the result of a “technical error”.

He said: “Crackers are a restricted item and we, like all shops in the UK, cannot sell them to anyone under 12. But this was just a till error I am afraid.

“It has since been fixed and we apologise to the customer.”

The Pyrotechnics Articles (Safety) Regulations, introduced in 2010 after an EU directive, reinforced laws banning the sale of explosive items to children.